Chapter 36

Jack backed the car out of the driveway and turned toward my father's house. I snuggled up to him, latched onto his arm, closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

"Tough day?"

"Tough day. Tough week. Tough month! I can hardly remember the last time I could just sit back and relax, Jack."

He leaned over, his nose and lips nuzzled in my hair, giving me a gentle kiss. "You know I'm fine with just kicking back at home tonight if you'd rather not go out, Jill."

I tightened my grip. "Don't even think about it. I've got you all to myself tonight and I'm going to take advantage of it. Do you realize how long it's been since it was just the two of us when we didn't have to do something?"

"Yeah, it's been a while."

"Tonight it's just going to be you and me and good food and some dancing and some cuddling."

He kissed the top of my head again. "Sounds good."

"Mmm. By the way, thank you for my flower, Jack. Where did you get it?"

"At Flowers by June. Where I get all your flowers."

"How were you able to clean the gym and still make it over there?"

"I got out early today."

"How come?"

"I told Coach I was thinking about quitting the cleanup job but didn't want to put him in a bind. He kind of surprised me."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He said he was wondering how long it was going to take for me to come to my senses."

"Really."

"Yup. He told me he does the same thing just about every year. There's some upper classman who comes to him who either has a car or a girl or both to support and is ready to quit the swim team and make his fortune at Jack in the Box. Coach offers him the cleanup job to keep him around. If the guy has any smarts at all, the job gets boring enough so he finds something that is more worth his time and his talents. He also told me he had a little secret."

"What's that?"

"He plays dirty."

"The money?"

"How did you know?"

"It just makes sense. You told him what you thought you could make flipping burgers and how many hours you had to work to make that much and he came up with something that took less time, didn't require any travel and paid more. Plus, he made a big deal about how much they were going to take out in taxes and said you could keep everything you made working for him. Kind of an offer you can't refuse unless you find something a whole lot better."

"Yeah. He said he shows his kids they don't have to settle for the first job that comes around. And the fact that the job isn't the most glamorous one in the world gets most of them looking for something better than Jack in the Box. He had one guy who was going to be a lawyer that found a job helping out in a law firm. Another was doing construction on the weekends making five times what he did in the gym. He said I'm the first one who quit to start his own business. He was beginning to wonder about me because I seemed satisfied mopping floors."

"So are you OK about this?"

"Pretty much. You know, I know it wasn't the best job in the world, but I did a good job at it and it gave me a chance to be by myself and think about things four afternoons a week. Of course, some of the time I spent thinking was really worrying about stuff instead of finding out the truth for myself."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, there was one time I thought you'd given up on me and I spent the whole afternoon trying to decide whether I was going to become a monk or date every girl at school."

"What did you decide?"

"I never came up with anything final. I found out there was nothing to worry about. Which is something I should have thought about before I started to drive myself crazy."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you aren't the only one who worried about things when there wasn't anything to worry about."

"Really? Like what?"

"Never you mind. There's nothing to worry about and the last thing I need is you having something to tease me about."

"Who? Me?"

"Yes, you. And you know it. Enough about that. Was June at the shop?"

"No. There was some girl I'd never seen before. Allison, I think. She said they were all going to some new hotel for the weekend and were closing up early. I just got there in time."

"What about a hotel?"

"She wasn't too sure on the details but it sounds like June bought out another florist with a bunch of shops and all the employees and their families are spending the weekend at some new hotel that hasn't opened yet. They're supposed to have some meetings where they introduce everyone to each other and lay out the rules and then they get fed, get to use the pool and generally relax."

"Sounds expensive."

"Probably. I know Allison's morale was through the roof. I think most employees appreciate when you take care of them. It'll probably pay for itself in productivity and loyalty."

"You're right. She's one smart woman."

"She's smart, but I think the thing that sets her apart is that she really cares for people. The first time I went in her shop I was just some kid who screwed up with his girlfriend. Most florists would sell me some generic bouquet or box of roses at way more than I could afford and could give a shit whether we stayed together. She took the time to put something special together for me that was well within my budget as if it was her duty to make sure I won you back. You don't find that kind of care and dedication much these days."

"Yes and no. I agree, standards have dropped but there are still some good people. Your mom, my dad, Thelma, the people who worked on our apartment. They're out there."

"Yeah, you're right. You go to the store and get the robotic 'Have a nice day' from some kid who could care less what your day is like or you watch the news and it's easy to get disillusioned with people. But there are some good ones out there. OK. I know the country club is around here someplace but I'm not sure where."

"Oh. Turn left on Jackson. Second light."

Five minutes later, the valet opened my door and took my hand as I got out of the car. I have to admit, Jack's Chevy looked out of place next to the luxury cars everyone seemed to be driving but it didn't make any difference. He told us to enjoy our dinner as he got in the car and drove it into the parking lot.

We went inside and Jack told the hostess that we had a reservation and gave her his name. She looked at her ledger, then looked up at us.

"Have you gotten your membership cards yet?"

"No, this is our first time here."

A man appeared at her side and she handed him an index card. "Would you mind going with Julio here to have your pictures taken while we get your table ready?"

"That will be fine."

We followed him down the hall, into an office. He had us sit down in front of a desk, then he typed something on his computer. He pointed to a second monitor that was facing us. "Is this information correct?"

I looked at it. It had my name, the address at Jack's house and my father's name as the primary member.

"It looks good."

"Thank you." He typed some more and the screen changed. "Sir?"

Jack checked out his information. "Fine."

"Very good. Miss? Could you look at the camera?"

He had a camera on a small round stand, similar to a desk lamp. He pointed it at me and I could see my image in the monitor. There was a click and then the image froze. "Is this picture satisfactory for your identification?"

"That will be fine."

"Good. Sir? Look at the camera, please."

He took Jack's picture, got an OK on it and typed for a minute or so. He pulled out two cards from somewhere under the desk and slid them over to us. They were very similar to drivers licenses. Eastside Country Club was across the top. My picture was below it on the left side of the card. My name and the word Member were on the right side. The back of the card had a magnetic strip and a white tape for my signature. About the time I noticed that, he slid pens over to each of us.

"Please sign the back of your card. Thank you. This card is used for any purchase at the country club. Your membership covers the golf course, tennis courts, exercise gym and health club. As a member you can receive any service at the health club at 25% less than the public rates. The public is allowed to use the health club if it is not too busy with members. They are not allowed to use the other facilities without being accompanied by a member. You should have your card with you any time you come here. This brochure explains the various services available at the health club. Do either of you have any questions?"

By the time we told Julio we didn't have any questions, there was a man with a white coat at the door.

"Rodney will escort you to your table. If you ever have any problems and need help, please ask for me. My name's Julio and I'm the General Manager here at Eastside."

Rodney took us into the restaurant to a round table set for two. He pulled out my chair and adjusted it after I sat down. Once we were seated, he picked up a couple of menus that were lying on the far side of the table and handed them to us.

He asked us if we wanted something to drink and we both ordered iced tea. He told us he would be back in a few minutes to take our orders.

The tables were far enough apart to give a feeling of privacy without being enclosed in booths. Two of the dining room walls were almost completely glass, overlooking the golf course. Our table was round and had more than enough room for the two of us; you could have probably squeezed six people in, provided they were friendly. If you called my position at the table 12:00, then Jack was sitting at about 3:00 and there was a fireplace six feet away from the table at 7:30 or so. The fireplace was probably twice as wide as one you would find in a home and there was a good sized log burning brightly inside. Instead of a screen, the face was covered in sealed glass with some vents along the bottom. It put out plenty of heat but it was more controlled than you get with the standard screen.

The tablecloth was starched white linen, as were the napkins, which had been folded and placed on the table so that they stood up as peaks. Everything on the table was either bone china, silver or crystal or some combination of them.

A waiter came over with a huge pitcher of iced tea and a dessert plate piled high with lemon wedges with a set of tongs on top. The wineglasses were removed and we each got goblets that he filled with tea for us. The rest of the pitcher was left on the far side of the table for refills.